Relationship between Master Gardeners’ and watershed stewards’ leadership skills, motivation toward engagement, and their age and education: COVID-19 pandemic

This study examined the relationships between Penn State Extension Master Gardeners (MGs) and Master Watershed Stewards’ (MWSs) leadership skills, motivation toward engagement, and demographics during the COVID-19 pandemic. The target population consisted of 3,000 MGs and MWSs, and we employed a census approach for data collection. A total of 1,196 volunteers responded, yielding a 39.9% response rate. Among the top leadership skills were involving others in decision-making, building trust, giving constructive feedback, developing project plans, and facilitating meetings. Motivation toward engagement, age, and education collectively explained 12% of the variance in leadership skills. These findings underscore the importance of targeted professional development in strengthening volunteer leadership capacity. We recommend designing tailored training programs that address the specific needs of MGs and MWSs, and conducting future research to explore additional demographic and contextual factors that influence volunteers’ leadership skills.